CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to the Code of Ethics; defining "elected official"; requiring elected officials to disclose any financial interest or conflict of interest prior to participating in legislative matters and recuse themselves in certain instances; and amending Sections 4.16.030 and 4.16.070 of the Seattle Municipal Code.
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WHEREAS, in 2013 the people of Seattle enacted a City Charter amendment to elect seven members of the City Council by district; and
WHEREAS, disqualifying a Councilmember from participating in a matter because of a conflict of interest may have the effect of denying residents of that Councilmember's district an equal voice in the City's lawmaking process; and
WHEREAS, the Seattle City Council last amended the Code of Ethics in 2018, to address disqualification requirements for the legislative process, and created a limited exception to allow Councilmembers with a conflict of interest to participate in some legislative matters after disclosure of the financial interest; and
WHEREAS, after six years of implementation of the limited exception, the Executive Director of the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission has addressed the current interplay between the Code of Ethics and legislative process; and
WHEREAS, the Executive Director relayed two findings in support of amending the Code of Ethics to allow elected officials to participate in legislative matters after disclosure of a financial interest: (1) the public nature of the legislative process; and (2) the ability of voters to act upon the voting record of their elected officials; and
WHEREAS, while elected officials would be able to disclose their financial interest or conflict of interest and participate in legislative matters, when the elected official's financial interest is impacted to a greater or less extent than that of other members of the same professions, occupations, classes, or groups affec...
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